"For 29 years, National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition” has celebrated the Fourth of July with a reading of the Declaration of Independence by hosts, reporters, newscasters and commentators.

This testament to the nation’s founding document has previously proved uncontroversial. But that changed in the year 2017.

After NPR tweeted the accompanying text of the declaration line by line, Donald Trump backers (seemingly unaware of the source document) accused the media organization of playing partisan politics and attacking the president.

Some even taunted NPR over Trump’s budget proposal, which slashes endowments for the arts and humanities, insisting the media organization should lose federal funding for its allegedly subversive rhetoric.

4 Jul NPR ✔ @NPRReplying to @NPRA Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Follow Alexandra

I think, deep down, they realize that they help elect the kind of government we used to fight against and overthrow. That's why they take the language of the Declaration to be against the current regime. I think more Trump fans are actually frightened by what they've done than will ever admit it. They're still trying to find excuses and scapegoats and trying to make resistance to it the enemy, but there's no way anyone truly patriotic isn't concerned by some of the overreaching authoritarian crap this administration is doing. They've made a mistake and are too ashamed to admit it, and they'd rather let it go on rather than view "the other team" as an ally to fight against it.

Fake news... and the fact is that progressives simply filled the role of the British over time.

That is hilariously wrong. Please look at the substantive bills which have been passed, and do a little reading as to the complaints of colonial America to the British Oligarchy over reaching and bleeding the colonies of capital while discouraging manufacturing while promoting extractive industries where they could rape our natural resources, tax the hell out of us on manufactured goods, and leave a standing army in this nation.

Under Republicans we had massive tax cuts for the oligarchy, we had the Republican congress pushing free trade zones which allowed the Oligarchy under the favorable tax code put in place by Republicans to export our factories and get tax benefits, the Republicans have given a get out of jail card to the extractive industries to rape our natural resources on penny on the dollar leases, and it is the Republicans who year after year expand police and military such that America now has a standing army which our founding fathers explicitly instructed us not to do. You would simply be a loyalist to the British Crown and traitor to real patriots. You seem to think that Democrats are the threat to the Bill of Rights, yet they and the horrible ACLU are the devil to Republicans and Oligarchs who continually wage war on drugs to take voting rights away and keep the standing army's foot on the throat of citizens. You cannot be taken seriously when discussing politics. Your distorted views of history, are sophomoric attempts to change history to conform with a very twisted view of reality. The patriots who fought the revolution were not fighting against government, they were fighting against tyranny, and were for better forms of government. You equate any government with something which is bad. That nihilist philosophy cannot be taken seriously because it is void of any life experience on how real government in America works.

Wrong again. Congress passed the ACA. The President signed the bill into law. The Supreme Court reviewed the bill and found it constitutional. This is exactly how our founding fathers set up our government. The proof is in the pudding as we now sit six months after a new Executive, and a new Congress where the majority of the same said they were going to repel and replace the ACA. The problem is the people at a rate close to 60% support the bill, so exactly opposite of your nonsense, the American people are not being taxed without representation, but a good law was passed with the consent of the people.

Penalties were always part of our founding father tax structure. A tariff is a penalty against a product imported into this country to deter the importation and protect an objective which Congress found worthy. The ACA was a penalty like our founding father's tariffs where if a deadbeat does not have insurance, he will be taxed. Only you are arguing that this law is unconstitutional, and you make that argument because you need to read more and get familiar with our constitution and how government works.

Our system works. President Trump is a protest candidate. He will shortly be an ex protest candidate. Your anti everything government is immature and not conceptually sound. Your type of immature libertarian philosophy devoid of common sense or knowledge of history is like a 12 year old child declaring they do not need parents, school, or rules which stop them from driving a car. The mere declaration tells us all we need to know, but in every instance when they try to bring their paradigm to life, it ends badly.

Wrong again. Congress passed the ACA. The President signed the bill into law. The Supreme Court reviewed the bill and found it constitutional. This is exactly how our founding fathers set up our government. The proof is in the pudding as we now sit six months after a new Executive, and a new Congress where the majority of the same said they were going to repel and replace the ACA. The problem is the people at a rate close to 60% support the bill, so exactly opposite of your nonsense, the American people are not being taxed without representation, but a good law was passed with the consent of the people.

Penalties were always part of our founding father tax structure. A tariff is a penalty against a product imported into this country to deter the importation and protect an objective which Congress found worthy. The ACA was a penalty like our founding father's tariffs where if a deadbeat does not have insurance, he will be taxed. Only you are arguing that this law is unconstitutional, and you make that argument because you need to read more and get familiar with our constitution and how government works.

Our system works. President Trump is a protest candidate. He will shortly be an ex protest candidate. Your anti everything government is immature and not conceptually sound. Your type of immature libertarian philosophy devoid of common sense or knowledge of history is like a 12 year old child declaring they do not need parents, school, or rules which stop them from driving a car. The mere declaration tells us all we need to know, but in every instance when they try to bring their paradigm to life, it ends badly.

ACK!

Help! I'm obviously in need of emergency psychiatric care. I AGREE with every word of a Seaoat post.